A passenger bus caught fire Sunday Jan. 25 on I-95 in Darien during a snowstorm, forcing everyone aboard to evacuate and slowing traffic down on the highway. The bus, managed by DATTCO, was on its way from New York City to Fall River, Massachusetts, when the fire began near Exit 11, CT Insider reported.
When smoke started coming from the back of the vehicle, the bus was carrying 55 passengers with the driver. The driver was able to stop and remove all of the passengers, quickly putting them out of the bus before the fire got worse.
“Darien First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky said that, in total, 50 people were either evaluated for injuries at the scene, taken to nearby hospitals, or transferred to another bus to continue to Massachusetts,” NBC Connecticut said.
Firefighters and emergency responders from a number of departments, including the Darien Fire Department, Darien Emergency Medical Services and Connecticut State Police, also arrived to provide assistance to passengers and to extinguish the fire. CT Insider stated that the incident occurred in a snowstorm that led Governor Ned Lamont to establish a commercial vehicle travel ban earlier that day. Officials are still investigating why the bus was on the road in the afternoon.
The fire temporarily closed the northbound lanes of I-95 which, in turn, led to major traffic jams as officers tried to clear the area. NBC Connecticut reported that the highway reopened later that afternoon once the bus was taken away and the area was cleared.
Staples High School students expressed feelings of shock and fear when learning about the bus fire.
“I drive on I-95 pretty often, especially for sports,” Cael Crombie ’26 said. “Finding out something like this happened so close to me makes me really think about how dangerous it can be to travel during storms.”
The incident also reminded some of how sudden and unexpected vehicular accidents are.
“I hear about snowstorms all the time, but a bus going on fire is different,” Jordan Ginsberg ’26 said. “It’s kind of scary knowing how quickly things can go wrong on the road, especially in this winter weather.”
